Crimeupdated 57m ago2 min read
MapJordan Says Terrorist Stabbing Kills Corporal Jawad Ali Khalaf Al-Salayaita Near Sri Lankan Embassy
5 West Asian3 Israeli2 Western Mainstream1 Local WesternMap: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
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Corporal Jawad Ali Khalaf al-Salayta, a diplomatic security officer, was killed. The stabbing occurred outside the Sri Lankan Embassy in Amman, injuring another officer.
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Stabbing near embassy
Jordanian authorities said a stabbing attack outside the Sri Lankan embassy in Amman killed Corporal Jawad Ali Khalaf al-Salayaita and wounded another security officer, with the Public Security Directorate describing it as a "cowardly terrorist act." The Public Security Directorate said the attack occurred at 12:20pm on Medina al-Munawwara Street, when a man ambushed a security officer performing his official duty and assaulted him with a sharp object. Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said a patrol intervened, and it said the officer in charge of the patrol sustained facial injuries during the clash.
The Public Security Directorate said Corporal al-Salayaita was taken to hospital but died of his wounds, while it described the wounded officer’s condition as stable. Al Jazeera reported that security sources said the attacker, born in 1994, stabbed al-Salayaita in the neck while he was inside a guard booth protecting the embassy in the Sweifieh area.
Arrest, weapons, investigation
The Public Security Directorate said security forces arrested the attacker after the patrol crew managed to control the situation and restrain him. Al-Mamlaka TV reported that the assailant attempted to seize the weapon of the security officer who was killed, and it said a second security officer intervened to stop him. Al Jazeera said security sources told it the attacker was carrying a dagger and a knife, and it said a second lieutenant fought him, wounded him and took control of him before he could seize the gun.
Al Jazeera reported that Jordan’s PSD said a preliminary investigation indicated the attacker had been "planning to commit the terrorist act against the officers of the General Security Directorate." Al Jazeera Net said the Attorney General of Jordan’s State Security Court, Major Military Judge Ahmad Talat Shahaltough, activated the Public Prosecution of the Court’s procedures to investigate the incident.
Broader security stakes
Jordan’s minister of government communication said an attack on security personnel was "an attack on the prestige of the state and the rule of law, and an attack on every Jordanian." The attack came weeks after gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in southern Jordan, killing nine people and wounding dozens more, and Jordan’s government described that earlier attack as "terrorist". France 24 said the stabbing incident came about two weeks after the church attack in the village of Hamoud in the governorate of Karak, which left nine people dead and more than 25 others wounded.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II said on Monday that "terrorists" would not be allowed to threaten the country’s unity and security, after the deadly church attack prompted Jordanian strikes in Syria. Al Jazeera Net said a document reviewed by it showed the attacker’s name appeared among three defendants in a prior case involving terrorist crimes under Jordan’s Anti-Terrorism Law, including charges of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and promoting the ideas of a terrorist group.